Professional Documents
Culture Documents
January 2007
A Tipping Point for the Call Center
O
n-demand computing is taking the enterprise software industry by storm. In a
few short years on-demand front office applications have gone from curiosity to
defacto standards in areas like sales and marketing. Up to now, though, the call
center has been slow to adopt on-demand technology and reap the many advan-
tages associated with renting business applications rather than buying them. Perhaps one
of the major reasons for this slower uptake has been the considerable investments that
many organizations have already made in on-premise call center systems, but as those
systems age, call center managers looking for ways to lower overhead costs are beginning
to seriously consider changes.
Although lower costs have been a traditional calling card for on-demand computing, costs
alone only tell part of the story. On-demand computing enables call centers to grow their
businesses through innovation by reducing the risks involved with introducing new solu-
tions or advancing into new markets. At the same time, some on-demand call center users
are discovering the benefits of letting some agents work at home or other remote loca-
tions. This approach saves on real estate, commuting time, and related costs and it usu-
ally works well for all parties -- up to a point.
Call centers face an additional challenge as they search for ways to lower their overhead
while maintaining high quality standards. Traditional management tools and techniques
presume the agent and manager are co-located, but as agents disperse from the call cen-
ter, organizations must find effective ways to manage remote workers or risk inconsisten-
cies that can result in dissatisfied customers and possible attrition.
Call center management is a complex issue involving motivation, disseminating informa-
tion, testing, scheduling, and more. Advanced management technologies that complement
on-demand infrastructure delivery can help call center managers to remotely manage their
staffs while enabling them to lower their costs; moreover, the combination can foster a
more entrepreneurial posture for many call centers.
With call center infrastructure now available on-demand and with appropriate controls be-
coming available to manage remote agents better, the market appears to have arrived at a
tipping point, and on-demand call center solution adoption appears to be accelerating.
This Beagle Research Group Executive White Paper focuses on the management challenges
faced by call centers of all kinds and offers insight into how leading organizations are lever-
aging technology to both lower costs and enhance quality standards.
Tipping point drivers: economics, competition, and risk
Call centers are conservative and they do not change course easily—like steering a large
ship. Call centers require time and good reasons to alter course. The reasons for conser-
vatism are rooted in the infrastructure and the costs of that infrastructure to the organiza-
tion. Expensive equipment must be fully depreciated or managers must have other con-
vincing financial reasons for change before a center can shift its technology investment.
There are several major, compelling, reasons for call centers to consider changing their
approaches to the market today, and they are embedded in economics and technology
change, competition and labor, and risk—all are a result of the introduction of on-demand
call center infrastructure.
www.beagleresearch.com